


Summer Blues

by AbsoluteChonk



Series: Welcome to the "Dante is actually rich but wasteful" AU [3]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: (but not really), Before DMC5, Before The Nightmare (Devil May Cry), Eventual Romance, F/M, First Kiss, Misunderstandings, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:27:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28639995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsoluteChonk/pseuds/AbsoluteChonk
Summary: Dealing with blood and devil per diem would eventually hardens one's heart, yet you were taken aback at how easy he put his trust in someone as new as you
Relationships: Dante (Devil May Cry)/Reader, Dante (Devil May Cry)/You
Series: Welcome to the "Dante is actually rich but wasteful" AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2075088
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	Summer Blues

**Author's Note:**

> Technically, Dante isn't always killing devil everyday but we need a *dramatic* summary

Time is just like a flock of sparrows. If you stay still, they will hop around to seek some food. Yet when you move around or try to chase them, they will fly away from you. It was something that your mother told you when you were just a kid, and those words kind of grow on you as you aged. You remember she always reminded you not to be lazy, but also not to overwork yourself, you should know when is the time you need to chase the bird, and when do you have to sit back and relax.

You've been busy running around, busy with your job, busy with the new projects, busy with the trade—everything. You were too focused on chasing the birds that you forgot your feet also have a limit. It was when you stopped to catch a breath, you realize you've been missing most of your spring.

In the beginning of summer, you felt the melancholy inside your heart grow.

You were supposed to spend the spring with your friends, trying a new restaurant, taking an overnight trip to the coast, and maybe visiting your hometown to see your parents. But you spent your holiday working like a bee instead, no time for break, not even a second to rest your feet. Maybe you would've had free time if you didn't have two responsibilities; and one of them is Dante.

When Mr. Morrison asked you to help him, what he really meant is you _have_ to babysit him. He doesn't know how to write a financial record, no matter how easy you made. You also helped him clean up his shop, which made that day is the day you sneezed the most. He also never had a terms of service in his job—which usually caused him to receive the property damage bills, so you wrote a job contract which will prevent him from getting sued. He never turned on the lamps, so every time you came to his shop, you gotta turn on the light yourself. Then you bought a few things like cutlery, bowl & plates, glassware, and almost every essential house item for his shop since he has none. The tableware proved themselves to be useful when you bring some food to his shop, sometimes you bring the extra lunch you made, or some cakes you bought on your way to his shop.

Even though you always complain about him, you secretly enjoy every second of it. Mainly because you found it funny when he tried to bargain you with chocolate bar so you wouldn't scold him.

Dante has been busy collecting Devil's Arm and many things that you doubt anyone would want to collect, but deep in your heart, you liked every items he brought to the shop. There's something about the shape and color of the item that you find intriguing, especially when they look beautiful but foreign at the same time. The items he collected are gradually taking up the space, so you had to make use of the empty room in the second floor as a storage. Sometimes he'd came to the shop bloody and battered, and you'd scolded him while cleaning the blood, but it confuses you when you see him without any scratches, except for a few bruises. ' _It's the blood from the demon_ ' he claimed.

Yes, the business is looking pretty good, and you're positive you'd have no more problem with his debt anymore. But when you look down to the pile of numbers in front of you, you know the problem just evolved into a bigger one. You begin to wonder if this summer would end up to be the same like the last season. The demand of Devil's remain has increase significantly, which means there'll be a lot of trade you should deal with. _Lucky for him_ , he got the money while you got all the headache. Setting down the record book, you pinch the bridge of your nose as you sigh heavily. There's too many things you have to handle by yourself, you're not confident you'd make it in time.

A firm, but warm touch awaking you from your thought, you turn your head to see his strong hand rests on your shoulder. You lift your head to see the owner of the hand standing besides the sofa, he gives you a gentle smile when your eyes meets.

"You alright? You've been staring at the book for 3 hours straight."

You take a look at your watch, and you realize it's already night. You were too occupied with your work that you didn't notice your stomach has been complaining at you. You grunted, if only you knew these things would take so long, you'd eat the dinner before coming to the shop.

"Yeah," You rub your eyes as you yawn, "I'm fine, just a little tired."

"Take a break, (Y/N)." He pats your back, "You deserve it."

You nodded and murmur a small 'okay'.

"Wanna go out for quick dinner? I know a place, it's not far from here." He suggested.

"Sure," You feel your stomach squeals at the though of food, "Just don't go to the place where the price for one pizza is more than $7."

He snickers.

You two went to the bistro near the shop, and you instantly recognized the name. This is where he usually bought the cheap sundae. As both of you take the indoor table to escape the summer heat, you begin look around inside the room. Somehow you feel like you're inside a 70's diner, they look old-fashioned, but still charming in some way. The menu they offer is also old-fashioned, they only have burger, fries, and steak, plus the infamous diner's beverage—milkshake.

The two of you quickly dig into the food, especially you since you were famished. The meal was comforting and now you're full. You excuse yourself to the toilet after finishing your drink, the milkshake is also good, you can't lie. The restroom is only lighted up by a fluorescent lamp, causing the room looks bleak. As you wash your hand and look to the mirror, you realize your face has lost most of its color and the bag under your eyes shows up. The concealer you used is already worn off and now you look like shit. You sighed, there's no way you could hide your tiredness now. _Well, whatever._

When you left the restroom, you saw him already standing in front of the cashier, receiving the change and the bill from the waiter. Your mind processed for a second before you hastily make a beeline toward him.

"Dante, _we already agreed on splitting the bill_ —"

"Shh," He pats your shoulder as he put his wallet into his back pocket "Consider this as my treat."

"But—"

"Come on, let's go back to the shop." He stopped you before you could protest, pulling your hand as he drags you out from the bistro.

Outside the building, the night feels quiet, even the stars don't show up in the sky. There's not many people walking in the street, as if the city begins to sleep. The light poles illuminate the street with warm hue, giving every pedestrian a silent comfort as they walk. You glance toward the man beside you. Dante is strangely quiet tonight, he usually talk about anything that crosses his mind, no matter how odd it is. A car comes into your sight as it's heading to the opposite direction on the street, the blinding headlights of the car forces you to close your eyes for a second before it passes by.

You vaguely heard him sucked his breath before he finally speaks,

"... Do you feel you're being forced to help me?"

" _Huh_?"

You turn your head to him, making sure you hear the question right. But when you try to find something different from his face, he didn't show anything unusual. Instead, he wears the same relaxed expression as if he didn't ask you something serious.

"Do you feel that way?"

"No." You furrowed your brows, "Why?"

He looked away from you, turning his attention to the empty street instead. "You look stressed out every time you come to my shop."

"Oh." You felt a pang of guilt hits your chest, "No, no, it's not because of that. I enjoy working with you very much. I mean, those devil related stuff is really cool, and I feel like I just discovered a whole new world,"

"But you can't hide the fact that you look worn out," He paused before his eyes return to study your face, "I know you've been helping me outside the debt."

"Well," You scratch your head, "It's actually because of the summer, It's really hot and I just can't have a nice sleep at night, that's all—" You lifted your hands when he gave you the look of _'I know you were lying_ ', "Okay, sorry. Yeah, I'm restless because of both my job and yours. But don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the work so much, inside or outside the debt. I just... Forgot to take a rest, I guess."

"(Y/N), you don't have to ask if you need one." He puts his hand on your shoulder in gentle manner, "Don't worry about the deal. I could ask Morrison to take care of it."

"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind."

The silence falls between the two of you again, you bit your lip as you feel the butterflies in your stomach has increasingly grew. You know you could drop the work at anytime you want, but you didn't. You glanced to his side, should you take his hand and tell him how much you don't want to take a break from the job? Or How much you enjoy working with him? ....And _how much you waited for the next visit to his shop?_

You snapped from your thoughts when you realize he has been looking at you. Your feet stops on the track, threatened to melts away if you continue to walk. You try to keep your hands from shaking as you pushed yourself to talk.

"What's on you mind, Dante?"

He stands still with his back to you before he turns his body halfway towards you, "I've been thinking, maybe it's better for you to be the one who keep my cash."

"What? No, you can't—"

"You know how impulse I am on buying things, but you always helped me clean up the mess I made." He hushes you when you opened your mouth to protest. "Besides, I don't care about those things. All I want is just a good fight and nice food."

"But..." You were speechless at the sudden turn of events. You know he trusted you on selling the Devil's remains, but trusting his money to other people is just pure reckless.

"Just keep how much you think I need to save, and give me enough money to buy some food. I think you already know how much I usually spend for a month."

Under the yellow light, you can feel the complete trust radiates from his eyes. You were stunned by how much faith he put on you, there's not even a single trace of hesitation in his gaze to you. From that moment and the fuzziness clouding in your mind, you knew there's no use of turning down his request.

You close your eyes as you take a deep breath, it's now or never.

You finally gather enough courage to step closer and take his hand, his fingers twitched slightly when your hand touch his. It didn't take long before you find yourself holding his calloused hand dearly, as if they were meant to be.

"Alright." You gave him a soft squeeze, "I'll do it for you, old man."

He smiles as he returns the same gesture.

* * *

Your mood gradually becomes better as you were no longer bothered by your job, many projects that were given to you has finally completed. You were happy with the result, many of your clients are satisfied with the work. One of the cosmetic company even gave you and your team the newly launched product that your team designed—a high-end compact powder. You were so proud of the product that you didn't have the heart to use it. The compact powder has a round, pearly white case with the company logo carved in gold on the top of the case, it also comes with the softest puff you ever touch.

You were eager to show it to Dante, but when you arrived at the shop, you didn't see him anywhere. 

_Maybe he's got a mission_ , you thought as you look at the empty spot where he usually stores his weaponry. So here you are, sitting on his dust-free sofa, halfway finished reading the booklet from the cosmetic company you worked with.

Suddenly, you hear a roaring sound of engine outside, followed by a loud horn. You were annoyed by whoever outside the shop, but there's one person that pops up in your mind. You instantly got up and sprint toward the door. The first thing you saw after you opened the door is the classic-black motorcycle parking in front of the shop before your eyes trailed up to the rider.

"Dante, I _swear_ if you bought it without telling me—"

"Hey, relax. I got it from the mission."

You furrowed your brows, "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying." He turns off the machine before he stand up to put down the kickstand with his boots, "This thing was possessed by a demon, so I kill the demon, and the owner gave it to me."

"He gave it away just like that?"

"This machine has taken more than 4 lives." He pats the leather seat, clearly liking the vehicle. "The owner didn't want to keep it anymore, so why not give it to me?"

"... I see."

He begins to undo his combat gears as he walk into the shop. You helped him getting out from his signature coat before you fold them gently. The musky smell from his coat is getting stronger because of his sweat, you're really temped to bury your nose into the fabric. As he stored his weaponry and the straps for his weapon, you told him that you could start to sell the mid-grade Devil's Arm since you already got the connection. But you told him that he have to come along, the other Devil Hunter doesn't look friendly so you had to bring him just in case.

Once again, there's the sound of rumbling engine outside the shop. You stopped halfway your sentence to hear the noise more clearly. The exhaust of the machine raved twice before it softly died down. Shortly, the front door of the shop opens up as a short-haired woman steps into the room. She looks around, squints her eyes to adjust her vision in the dark room.

"Dante, I see you got a new motorcycle." She drops a long metal tube with a huge bayonet onto the floor—you guessed it's a modified rocket launcher. She stretches her shoulder before her gaze falls on your figure, you greet her with a smile. "Oh, I didn't know you had a client."

"No, I'm actually—"

"She's my assistant." You glare at him, but he just give you a cheeky grin.

"What? Oh!" The woman walks closer to offers you her hand, "Sorry I didn't recognize you soon, Trish already told me about you. You can call me Lady, (Y/N)."

"I see." You blushed when she mentioned ' _Trish_ ', "It's nice to meet you, Lady."

"So." She puts her hands onto her waist, "How do you feel after working with him? I bet he gave you a lot of headache."

"Well, can't deny it."

She snickers as she nudges your shoulder playfully, "Don't be so meek, I know how annoying he could be."

"Hey," Dante suddenly cuts into the chat, "You came to my shop to offer me a job or just to talk bad about me?"

"The second one sounds good to me, thanks for the idea." Lady replied with the look of sarcasm on her face, you snort a laughter.

"Cut to the chase, what job is it this time?" He puts both of his hand on his waist, "I just got here from a mission, so It's gotta be worth it."

"Nuh-uh, no excuses." She jabs her finger on his chest, "Or should I remind you mister, that the debt's not gonna pay itself?"

"Wait, he's in debt with you?"

She turns his head to you with a smirk on her face, "He's in debt with almost everyone I knew."

"It's just you and Morrison." He corrected, "Or do you finally admit that you don't have a lot of acquaintances?"

She snapped her head towards him, her hand instantly seized her gun and place the muzzle onto his forehead. You almost shriek when you saw the gun and your mind instantly thought she would pull the trigger. "Why don't you get ready instead of blabbering? Come on, chop chop." 

He lifts both of his hand while stepping back, chuckling. "Whoa, easy there, lioness." He commented while he turns his back and walk himself to the weaponry. You watched the whole scene in fright, but Dante appears to be extremely calm. _How did he keep his head cool even with a gun on his head?_ Letting out a quiver breath, you watched him walk away before you turn your attention to Lady. She tucked her gun back to the cover, lifting her shirt to adjust the combat gears on her waist. You just noticed how many weapons she brings on her waist, _even demon wouldn't mess with that._

She lifts her head as she moves her eyes to you. A small laughter bursts from her lips when she saw how your face has turned ashen. "Oh my, did I scare you, (Y/N)?“ She covers her lips with her hand, "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"No, it's... Alright." You put your hand on your chest, trying to calm your heartbeat. "But I'm not gonna lie, I thought he'd be dead for a second."

She snorted in amusement, "Get use to that." She turns her head to Dante, a sour smile appears on her lips when his figure reflects on her eyes "I hate to admit it but he wouldn't die that easily, even if I shoot him."

The words that just came out from her mouth confuses you, a gun could instantly kill any human within that range, so why'd Dante be an exception?

You push your thoughts aside, there's something more important that you might can do for him instead of figuring out how he could survive from a shot.

"So... How much does he owe you?" You lower your voice as you asked her.

"Why? You wanna help him settle his debt?"

You gave her a wry smile, "Maybe, but I have to ask him first."

"I'll tell you, _but_ ," She emphasized the last part, "You have to promise me he won't ask me to lend him money ever again."

"I promise."

She tugs her lips up as she taps her chin slowly, you saw a glint of mischief in her eyes. "Hmm let's see, I think he owes me about $1,076. Including all the unpaid property damage bills and the bet he lost."

Your eyes widened, not because of the amount, but rather the fact that he really wasted his money on a bet. "He's gambling with you?"

"Yes, and you gotta try to gamble with him." She winked, "It's an easy win."

"Don't give her ideas." You shift your eyes from Lady to the man you both just talked about, you watch Dante takes his leather coat from the sofa and slides his hands into the sleeves before fixed the collar part. He then looked at you with the barefaced expression on his face, "Hey, scold me all you want, but I got a job to do so keep it for later."

Lady folds her hands as she looks at him up and down, "Great, you're ready. Let's go."

She bent down to pick up her heavy weapon before she carries the things by the strap on her shoulder. "Until next time, (Y/N)." She playfully salutes to you before she turns towards the door, her boots click on the wooden floor with every step she takes. You watched her exit the shop as you hear the sound of engine starting shortly after she left the shop. 

"Um, Dante." You catch his wrist before he turns on his heels, he tilted his head as a gesture, he's listening. You clear your throat before you mutter under your breath, "Be careful... And... Don't get hurt."

It was something that you usually said whenever he went on a mission, but somehow it doesn't feel the same this time. The fluttering wings inside your guts threaten to break free as you look into his eyes. He didn't move nor say anything for what feels like eternity, but his eyes tell otherwise. You bit your lips, the air felt like it's thicken up that you were unable to let go of his hand. It was until his hand rose up to touch the side of your face, and he took a step closer to you. 

It happened so fast, the second he pulls you closer, you feel your lips meets his. You were barely able to wrap your head around as his lips ghosted on your skin for a moment before he pulls away, leaving you dumbfounded. 

" _See you later, baby_."

He gave you a smile before he left the shop. You watched him until he disappears behind the door, and then you just realize you've been holding your breath since the kiss. You took a step back till your heel hits the bottom of the sofa. You fall down onto the sofa as you breath heavily.

_What was that?_

* * *

You didn't come to his shop for the next 5 days after the kiss. You were so busy with your job that you didn't have time to visit him. Guilt gnaws on your heart as you feel like you were running away from him. You try to convince yourself that you rarely come to the shop in the first place. But then, you were— _in fact_ ran away from him, and you still do. You were supposed to wait for him that day, but you left the shop and went straight home instead. 

Your mind was a mess that day, and you honestly don't know how to face him after the incident. It's not that you didn't want it to happen, you just didn't expect he did it out of the blue. You admit you've been daydreaming about kissing him, and you were sure you'd be the one who started it first if he didn't. But, the thought of him being Mr. Morrison's friend and the dangerous job he takes push your wish aside— _hell_ , he's also a decade older than you. You're so scared if it turns out nothing work out between the two of you, or it's just a fling for him. You didn't want to judge, but he does have the charms to steal any girl's heart at anytime he wants. Even if it turns out to be true, you don't want to throw away the friendships you had with him just like that. 

The feeling of his lips still lingers on your lips, as if a phantom is holding you by your face and kissed you every time you think of him. His lips are thin, but that what makes his kiss felt... _different_.

You snapped out from your daydream, this is not the right time for that. Pulling your bag closer, you begin to search for your agenda. As you open the small book, your heart threatens to leap when you look at the schedule, today's the day you have to visit him. You need to collect all the bills and commission he got, so you could note them in the record book. You also need to ask him about his debt on Lady, or that's what written on the planner. You snorted, even yourself decided to put this problem to the future you. Today there's also a meeting for the final design of a brand new lipsticks series, and you're sure it's gonna take a long time. Plus you need to review all the package design from the dairy company, the deadline's getting closer. You ran your hands into your hair, there's no way you could relax for today.

You were right, today you were chasing the birds again. The meeting didn't end well, there's a lot of revision and addition on the product, but all of them seems far from perfect. The people on your team changed the color of the tube twice before going back to the original idea, and the placement for the logo still doesn't look fit on the lipstick. The meeting ended up 2 hours late from the estimated time, forcing you to take the remaining work with you. You quickly made your way to the city, hoping that the day is still bright when you arrived. Sadly, it didn't happen.

When you arrived at his shop, the sky is already dark and you didn't see any lights from the crack of the doors. You knocked on the door twice, but there was no responses. Knowing he never locks his door, you immediately grab the handle and push the door open. The shop is really dark as the only source of light in this room is the weak street lamp from the outside.

"Dante?" You called him as you step inside, but there's no answer. 

You could only guess that he's still on a mission, and you gotta wait for him until he comes back. _But for the love of God_ , why did this man always forget to turn on the lights? You grumbles as you quickly walk to the switch in total darkness. At first you let the pathetic light from the window to guides you before you can only rely on your sense of touch. When your hand comes in contact with the cold wall, you try to feel the hard plastic around the place. 

_A-ha, there you are._

You tug the corner of your lips when you feel the switch on your hand, you quickly flip the switches and the whole room lights up.

But you certainly didn't expect to see him anywhere nearby, so when you see him stand besides you while leaning against the wall, you scream and throw all the folders you held to him. You hear him letting out a hurtful noise when the folders slaps his face.

"Guess you didn't see me coming huh?" He chuckles as he unfold his hand, starts to gather the things you let fall. You watched him picking up the folders while you press your hand onto your chest to calm yourself.

"I swear to God, don't scare me like that!"

A half-smile crossed his face when he looked up to your face before he stood up, easily towering over your figure. He hands your files back to you, and when your hand reaches to take it, he pulls it away. Your brows creased as you give him an annoyed stare, but he nonchalantly yanks the files every time you try to reach it. Your nose picked up a faint smell of alcohol from his breath when his face gets closer.

"I thought you wouldn't come today."

You feel your cheek heated for a bit, "I'm so sorry, I was busy at my office." You brush your hair to the back as your clear your throat, "Should we begin now?"

Suddenly you feel your hand seized by him, pulling you forward. You stumbled by your feet, but you quickly grab his shoulder to balance yourself. "Stop being so stiff with me, we've kissed."

Your stomach churned when he mentioned the word ' _kiss_ '.

"Once." You argued, fighting the nervousness that arises from your belly. "And it was an accident."

He snorts, " _You call it an accident?_ "

"Then explain it to me, what was it?"

"It's... a kiss." He frowns, the confident light in his eyes changes into a puzzled look. "You should be the one who understand those things more than me."

"Well, I don't." You furrowed your brows, looking straight to him as you retort, "And you better not messing around."

Sensing the distress from your attitude, he quickly cups your face as he urge you to look at him closely. You shift your view to his eyes, the smile lines you adore so much appears on the side of his lips as he caresses your cheek. "Listen, I really mean it when I kissed you. I thought... It would be enough to tell you how I feel about you."

You both stare at each other in silence.

"... You know you're really bad at explaining things, do you?"

"I know."

Your cheeks grew warm as you stared at his scruffy face, no words coming out from him but his eyes begged you to question him. You are more than willing to serve.

"Does that mean you like me?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"So you kissed me to let me know that you like me?"

"Yes."

You bit your lips, deciding to push your luck a little further. "... So you wanna date me?"

" _Hell yes_."

"Why didn't you just ask me then?"

"I did." You gave him a questioning look, "—It was the kiss."

Laugh erupts from your mouth without warning, you tried to suppress them, but they wouldn't stop. You couldn't muster how stupid it was, it's just like a badly written rom-com. You bury your face onto his chest, trying to calm yourself. He saw it as a chance to wrap his hand around you, holding you close. The old woody smell on his clothes intensifies as you take a deep breath.

"That's not how it works, old man."

"I can't think of any other way."

You lift your head, reaching to cup his cheek. The apple of his cheek appears as he smiles, making your heart squeals at the sight. 

"You're really hopeless."

He leaned his face closer to your palm, staring at you with adoring gaze. "Only for you."


End file.
